---
title: Core Concepts
sidebarTitle: Overview
description: The building blocks of agentic workflows.
---

ControlFlow is a framework for building AI workflows that bridges the gap between 
structured programming and the natural language capabilities of LLMs. It 
accomplishes this through three core concepts: Tasks, Agents, and Flows.

To create an agentic workflow, you define clear objectives (Tasks), assign 
intelligent entities to accomplish them (Agents), and orchestrate their 
interactions over time (Flows). This approach allows you to harness the power 
of AI while maintaining fine-grained control over your applications.

## 📋 Tasks

Tasks represent the structured side of ControlFlow. They are specific, 
well-defined objectives that form the backbone of your workflow. Tasks 
encapsulate the "what" and "how" of your AI-driven operations, providing a 
clear, programmatic structure. By defining expected result types and validation 
criteria, Tasks ensure that AI outputs align with your application's requirements.

To learn more about tasks, see the [Tasks](/concepts/tasks) section.

## 🦾 Agents

Agents embody the unstructured, natural language side of ControlFlow. They are 
AI-powered entities capable of understanding and generating human-like text,
bringing flexibility and adaptability to your workflows. Agents can be 
specialized for specific tasks, have access to different tools, or even 
represent different LLM models, allowing you to optimize your workflow for 
various requirements. Assign agents to tasks to determine "who" will execute 
your work.

To learn more about agents, see the [Agents](/concepts/agents) section.

## 🧩 Flows

Flows provide a shared context for all tasks and agents within a workflow. They 
orchestrate the execution of tasks and the interaction of agents, allowing you 
to create complex, adaptive AI workflows. Flows maintain a consistent state and 
history across all components, enabling seamless collaboration and information 
sharing. 

To learn more about flows, see the [Flows](/concepts/flows) section.
